For employees at John Deere, 2026 is already shaping up to be a tumultuous year. According to new reports, there will be no raises for John Deere employees for the fiscal year 2026. This decision was recently made public after the company’s struggles in the market and the broader challenges in the agriculture sector. After major workforce cuts amid lowered demands for the company’s services, the business has attempted to better position itself in the market and combat the rising costs with internal changes of its own. John Deere did not provide an elaborate list of reasons for this wage freeze, but the evidence of the company’s struggles has been apparent.
John Deere will offer no pay raises for salaried employees in 2026, but hourly workers protected by union contracts should remain unaffected. (Image: Pexels)
John Deere Will Offer No Raises in 2026: How Will This Affect Employees?
John Deere’s wage freeze policy for 2026 isn’t a strategy that is entirely unheard of, but it is one that is only employed when the situation is dire. Reportedly, merit-based pay increases will be put on hold for the fiscal year 2026, and this will affect all its salaried employees, including its executives. This means that all of the company’s white-collar workers will have to accept that their current pay will remain unchanged, regardless of performance. Hourly employees, likely those protected by union contracts with the UAW, will be spared from this decision.
According to a spokesperson for the company, the decision was motivated by low commodity prices and tariff disruptions. Issues or shortcomings within them have not spurred the low demand for the company’s products, but reportedly due to the strain on local farmers that limits them from buying equipment from John Deere.
Earlier this year, John Deere turned to workforce cuts in order to shrink costs and conserve its resources. Around 238 roles were cut across facilities in Moline, East Moline, and Waterloo, and 141 roles were similarly eliminated later in September at facilities in Waterloo and Des Moines. Such cuts have been rampant since 2024.
How will the John Deere Pay Freeze for Salaried Workers Affect Employees?
With John Deere offering no pay raises in 2026, employees may be more inclined to quit and seek other opportunities. Most workers look at their yearly pay raises as the primary milestone to work towards, hoping for an increase in earnings and opportunity. Unlike other changes that may push new hires to quit while convincing experienced senior employees to stay, such sweeping changes affect all employees equally, suggesting that the loss of talent could occur from anywhere in the hierarchy.
With pay raises off the table, many workers may also become more laid back about their duties, unmotivated to outperform themselves and secure a boost. The company is likely aware of these consequences and may not have found any alternative options to keep costs low. For John Deere to double down on the wage freeze in 2026 without losing workers, the company may have to explore other avenues of employment engagement and benefit sharing to push workers to remain at their posts without looking to other opportunities elsewhere.
In 2025, Starbucks announced a flat 2% pay raise for salaried workers rather than negotiating over increases with them. While this announcement was disappointing to many, it did provide them with a small incentive to look forward to. For other businesses in a similar position as John Deere, a similar alternative may be a better compromise with employees to consider as well.
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